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Assisted Suicide
Assisted Suicide is the fourteenth episode of Season 4 and the overall fifty-third episode of The Venture Bros. Plot The episode begins with several characters (including Brock, Sgt. Hatred, Shore Leave, Hank, Dean, and Dr. Orpheus) playing touch football. The game is interrupted when Brock senses someone is in his car. It turns out to be Dr. Venture's apparent attempt at suicide (albeit a poor one as he tried to asphyxiate himself in a fully electric car). In quick succession, he tries to kill himself with a road flare, shaving creme, Brock's combat knife, and Dr. Orpheus' tie. After being taken into the compound and examined by Dr. Orpheus, it is determined that Dr. Venture is not truly suicidal but in fact possessed. Preparations are quickly made for an exorcism. Orpheus casts a spell of binding which effectively puts Dr. Venture in a locked-in state. It is revealed that the Monarch has entered Dr. Venture's mind via a device not approved by the Guild. The Monarch's disembodied psyche has set up shop in the "Master Control Room" of Venture's brain, and is driving his suicidal urges. With the help of the greatest treasure Dr. Venture values (his old head shot, various awards, money, newspaper clippings of his childhood adventures, a shoebox of old love letters, and a signed photo of Loni Anderson. Notably his children are not what he values most), Dr. Orpheus enters into Dr. Venture's mind, where he meets the personification of the two greatest forces in the human psyche: Eros (who manifests as Billy Quizboy with typical Cupid wings, arrows, and diaper) and Thanatos (who manifests as Pete White, dressed as a Victorian-era undertaker, though with the character's usual dash of purple). Together, they cross the levels of Dr. Venture's mind, passing by the Id (which manifests as Rusty in his childhood, presiding over a harem of every woman he ever desired, and wearing Roman garb and a golden crown of laurels); Ego (which manifests as a dejected middle-aged Rusty who futilely works on a puppet of himself like Geppetto); and Superego (a burly manifestation of Rusty as he wishes to see himself: physically imposing, with a full head of hair, no glasses and confidence evocative of his father). Meanwhile, the Monarch's tamperings inside Dr. Venture opens the floodgates of Venture's horrific past, revealing more of his traumatic childhood. Meanwhile, Henchman #21 and Dr. Mrs the Monarch bond while watching over The Monarch's physical body (unable to forcibly remove him from Dr. Venture's mind at the risk of "turning him into a vegetable"). When the Murderous Moppets show up for a routine safety inspection, Dr. Mrs the Monarch and Henchman #21 cover the Monarch's condition from the Moppets, to avoid Guild repercussions, since these kinds of mental attacks aren't allowed. To avoid the repercussions they fake a fetishistic threesome, causing the Moppets to quickly leave in disgust. As they await the Monarch's return to consciousness, they get drunk on wine, having engaging conversations about their mutual likes and desires, and then 21 and Dr Mrs The Monarch share a drunken kiss. Finally the Monarch, after Dr. Orpheus confronts him with the horrible memories of all Hank and Dean's deceased clones, flees from Dr. Venture's mind. Awakened and released from the control of the Monarch, Rusty goes outside to see mild chaos as Hatred and Brock argue over how to deal with Dean (who had sat on an anthill and was now nearly stripped and being hosed down). Dr. Venture declares that his children are "his problem" and not the responsibility of the two feuding bodyguards. The episode concludes with a brief conversation between Dr. Venture and Hank where he relates a story of how he was humiliated yet again at the hands of both his father and the original Team Venture: During his 16th birthday party, furnished by Jonas Venture Sr. with easy women and probably some actual prostitutes, Col. Gentleman pulled down Rusty's pants to let Action Man shoot his genitals with a shrink ray. He implies it was this, among numerous other incidents caused by his father and his associates, that are responsible for turning him into the person he is today. Episode Cast * [[wikipedia:James_Urbaniak|'James Urbaniak']]: Dr. Venture, The Rusties, Rusty's Women * [[wikipedia:Patrick_Warburton|'Patrick Warburton']]: Brock Samson * [[wikipedia:Michael_Sinterniklaas|'Mike Sinterniklaas']]: Dean Venture * [[wikipedia:Steven_Rattazzi|'Steven Rattazzi']]: Dr. Orpheus * [[Chris McCulloch|'Chris McCulloch']]: The Monarch, Hank Venture, Sgt. Hatred, Pete "Thanatos" White, Tim-Tom * [[Doc Hammer|'Doc Hammer']]: Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Henchman 21, Billy "Eros" Quizboy, Shore Leave, Kevin First Appearances * Ego * Eros * Id * Superego * Thanatos "The Rusty's Invisible Harem" According to The Id of Rusty Venture's psyche, "The Rusty could have any of these women if he just put in the effort." The women seen in Rusty's Id include: *''Cupcakes'' nurse **The nurse was on the cover of Cupcakes adult magazine as seen in ''The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider''. *'Dr. Mrs. The Monarch' **Dr. Girlfriend, disguised as "Charlene", pretended to be into him in ''Mid-life Chrysalis'' as part of a plan by The Monarch to arch Dr. Venture. **Rusty attempts to flirt with her in ''Showdown at Cremation Creek Part I'' and ''Home is Where the Hate is''. *[[Dr. Quymn|'Dr. Quymn']] **Tara and Rusty were childhood friends. They may unwittingly be half siblings. **Her stepfather, Colonel Gentleman, was a member of the original Team Venture and her mother, Mz. Quymn, had an affair with Jonas Venture Sr. **The two almost had sex in ''Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman'' but were interrupted by her bodyguard, Ginnie. *[[wikipedia:Lindsay_Wagner|'Lindsay Wagner']] ** Actress from the 1976-1978 television series ''The Bionic Woman''. ** Spokesperson in infomercials for Select Comfort's "Sleep Number" bed. ** Id claims that she and the Rusty met at a party where "witty banter was shared" and she was totally into him, but he did not "seal the deal" because he was tired--only because of this! *[[Molotov Cocktease|'Molotov Cocktease']] **Dr. Venture showed interest in Molotov when she covered for Brock in ''Assassinanny 911''. **This is Molotov Cocktease's first appearance since ''Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel''. *[[Myra Brandish|'Myra Brandish']] **Rusty revealed he slept with his former bodyguard, Myra, in ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills''. **In the Season 5 episode ''Momma's Boys'' he admits he allowed the delusional Myra to believe she was Hank and Dean's mother to get free daycare from her (and so she would continue sleeping with him.) *[[Sally Impossible|'Sally Impossible']] **The desperate Sally showed interest in him in ''Ice Station Impossible'' and ''Twenty Years to Midnight''. **Since meeting Jonas Venture Jr. in ''Twenty Years to Midnight'' she stopped showing interest in Rusty. Connections to Other Episodes [[Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!|'Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!]]'' * The episode carries on a theme of Dr. Venture caring more for himself than for his kids, in this case physically proving it when Dr. Orpheus tries to enter his mind. A similar event occurred in the episode Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic! [[Return to Spider-Skull Island|Return to Spider-Skull Island]] *Brock ridicules Hank's suggestions by saying "He's possessed, Hank, he's not giving birth to a monster baby", although the last time Hank thought Dr. Venture was pregnant, Jonas Venture Jr. came out of his body. [[Powerless in the Face of Death|Powerless in the Face of Death]] *Many of the Hank and Dean clone zombies directly reference the deaths of the various clone-pairs shown throughout the series (most notably in ''Powerless in the Face of Death'') such as a Hank clone wearing a Batman costume and donning a broken umbrella. [[The Invisible Hand of Fate|'The Invisible Hand of Fate]]'' *Sergeant Hatred makes references to his "O.S.I. days", effectively confirming that he is one and the same as the "Sgt. Haine" who appeared in The Invisible Hand of Fate. [[Handsome Ransom|''Handsome Ransom]] *When 21 lists the things he has seen he says "I've seen a giant penny roll over a guy dressed like a rainbow", a reference to the death of Wonder Boy III, as claimed by Captain Sunshine in [[Handsome Ransom|''Handsome Ransom]].The giant penny can be seen on display in Captain Sunshine's Sanctum Solarium with a likeness of The Monarch on the front in place of Abraham Lincoln. Cultural References [[wikipedia:Blade Runner|''Blade Runner]]' (1982)' * Henchman 21 recites part of Roy Batty's final speech from the movie [[wikipedia:Blade Runner|''Blade Runner]]. [[wikipedia:Count_Dracula|'Count Dracula']] * Dr. Orpheus is called "Count Freud", a triple reference to Count Dracula, Sigmund Freud, and the SCTV character Count Floyd. [[wikipedia:Count_Floyd|'Count Floyd']] * Dr. Orpheus is called "Count Freud", a triple reference to Count Dracula, Sigmund Freud, and the SCTV character Count Floyd. [[wikipedia:Creed (band)|'Creed']] * Eros makes fun of Thanatos' purple prose regarding death, saying that he acts like he's in a Creed video around death. [[wikipedia:Donkey Kong (video game)|''Donkey Kong]]' (1981)' * Henchman 21 mentions the "Donkey Kong kill screen" as one of the things he has seen. This is a reference to the 22nd level of the arcade classic, [[wikipedia:Donkey Kong (video game)|''Donkey Kong]]. Due to a bug in the programming, a player only has about 7 seconds before time runs out, thus making the level impossible to complete via traditional means. [[wikipedia:Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind|'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind']]' (2004)' * Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Henchman 21's bonding and drinking over The Monarch's comatose body is reminiscent of scenes from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. [[wikipedia:Flatliners|''Flatliners]]' (1990)' * When Henchman 21 asks Dr. Mrs. The Monarch if she thinks The Monarch will "bring back a pissed off Billy Mahoney", he's referencing the movie [[wikipedia:Flatliners|''Flatliners]]. [[wikipedia:Gallagher (comedian)|'Gallagher']] * When noticing that Dean, Billy, and Pete have prepared for a vomit-filled mess as part of the "exorcism", Dr. Orpheus chides "This isn't a Gallagher Two performance." He is referring to Ron Gallagher, Leo Gallagher's younger brother, who performed for years under the names "Gallagher Too" and "Gallagher Two" before an injunction from Leo ended the derivative comedy act. Audiences for both comedians' shows frequently prepared with plastic tarps and ponchos to protect from smashed watermelons and other food products that routinely flew off the stage as part of the act. [[wikipedia:Harry Potter|''Harry Potter]] * During the football game Shore Leave refers to Dr. Orpheus as "Professor Snape". [[wikipedia:Id, ego and super-ego|'Id, Ego, and Super-Ego']] * Rusty's mind is divided into the three distinct, yet interacting agents in the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche. ** [[wikipedia:Id, ego and super-ego#Id|'The Id']]':' the disorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human's basic, instinctual drives ** [[wikipedia:Id, ego and super-ego#Ego|'The Ego']]':' acts according to the reality principle; i.e., it seeks to please the Id's drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bring grief ** [[wikipedia:Id, ego and super-ego#Super-ego|'The Super-Ego']]':' reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly taught by parents applying their guidance and influence ''[[wikipedia:Pinocchio (1940 film)|'Pinocchio']]' (1940)' * Ego is seen trying to fix a puppet of Rusty Venture, a reference to Geppetto from ''Pinocchio'', but also a reference to Rusty himself. [[wikipedia:Names of large numbers|'Quadrillion']] *"A thousand billion" is a trillion, not a quadrillion. A quadrillion is a million billions. [[wikipedia:Road House (1989 film)|''Road House]]' (1989)' * Henchman 21 laments over what he could have better spent his money on instead of his new costume: the leather jacket Patrick Swayze wore in the movie [[wikipedia:Road House (1989 film)|''Road House]]. [[wikipedia:Sigmund_Freud|'Sigmund Freud']] * Dr. Orpheus is called "Count Freud", a triple reference to Count Dracula, Sigmund Freud, and the SCTV character Count Floyd. * The Id, the Ego, and the Super-Ego were all concepts defined by Sigmund Freud. [[wikipedia:Skittles (confectionery)|'Skittles']] * Brock Samson eats a bag of Skittles fruit-flavored candy. When Sergeant Hatred asks if he can have some, Brock gives him a single Skittle. [[wikipedia:Star Trek: The Original Series|''Star Trek: The Original Series]]' (1966-1969)' * Henchman 21 and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch discuss their love of the original Star Trek, particularly the episode [[wikipedia:The Corbomite Maneuver|''The Corbomite Maneuver]]. [[wikipedia:The Doors of Perception|''The Doors of Perception]]' (1954)' * When the doors of the mind open, Orpheus remarks "The Doors of Perception" have flung open. This references the 1954 book by Aldous Huxley recounting Huxley's experience with the hallucinogen mescaline. * The title was taken from ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, a poem by William Blake. * It is also the book that gave the band The Doors their name. [[wikipedia:The Exorcist (film)|''The Exorcist]]' (1973)' *As Orpheus begins Dr. Venture's exorcism, various characters are shown to be prepared for extreme projectile vomiting, in a nod to the infamous scene from [[wikipedia:The Exorcist (film)|''The Exorcist]]. [[wikipedia:The Human League|'The Human League']] * Henchman 21 attempts to guess what is The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch's romantic song. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch mentions that The Monarch always sings a certain song by The Human League. * 21 guesses (Keep Feeling) Fascination, but she say "Oh, my god. No." * 21 attempts to sing Don't You Want Me, to which Dr. Mrs. The Monarch replies "That is not even close." **Her response may not be because he chose the wrong song title, but because the version of Don't You Want Me that 21 sings isn't anywhere close to the actual song (he's muddled up many of the words, and his rhythm and melody are both way, way off). [[wikipedia:The Lady in Red (Chris de Burgh song)|''The Lady in Red]]' (1986)' * Henchman 21 attempts to guess what is The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch's romantic song. His first guess is ''The Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh. [[wikipedia:The Matrix Reloaded|''The Matrix Reloaded]]' (2003)' *Rusty's mind being shown as a white corridor with multiple doors is a reference to [[wikipedia:The Matrix Reloaded|''The Matrix Reloaded]]. [[wikipedia:Your Song|''Your Song]]' (1970)' *When The Monarch is returning to a stable heart condition Henchman 21 suggests to sing him something familiar and asks Dr. Mrs. The Monarch what "their song is". She replies that they don't write songs like Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Production Notes and Trivia * One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) has a "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For ''Assisted Suicide the credit reads Kimson "A Skittle" Albert. * This episode was written as the second episode of the half-season but was pushed back to the sixth. Category:Episodes Category:The Venture Bros. episodes Category:2010 television episodes Category:Season 4